The 27,000 charities that survive on taxpayers' cash and lobby for the pet causes of politicians

"It said 27,000 groups rely on the taxpayer for more than 75 per cent of their income – with individual donors providing less than half the funding for the entire voluntary sector.

"Many of the charities lobby for the pet causes of politicians, according to the Instituteof Economic Affairs. The environment, public health, foreign aid, inequality and women’s rights are areas that have been ‘particularly blessed’."